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1981
1-2: Marginality and Fragility in African Cinemas
  • ISSN: 1754-9221
  • E-ISSN: 1754-923X

Abstract

Mambéty’s female leads reflect his evolving understanding of the role money plays in human relationships. Their gender, age and circumstances all have a role to play in Mambéty’s cinematic commentary on money systems. Through his films, Mambéty increasingly shifts his focus away from paradigms of neocolonial economic dependency towards a speculative freedom from the corrupting influence of money. He represents money as a marker and mediator of power, yet he reframes the idea of speculation from a financial strategy to cinematic practice. Through his lens, dreams have the power to remake and reimagine economic realities. Mambéty offers these speculative dreams in counterpoint to the national, environmental and personal costs of money, becoming increasingly concerned with how his characters are caught up within global monetary flows. Through his female leads, he pushes the boundaries of what seems possible, towards an otherwise unimaginable future.

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2025-08-06
2026-04-16

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